In the era of digital, where it takes a minute for you to upload something on the internet and seconds for it to go viral, sustaining yourself in this fast paced field is what Sejal Kumar did and is continuing to do.
Sejal was bit by the YouTube bug, 5 years ago, in 2014 when she uploaded her first ever video on the video streaming website.
“I got approached by Lifestyle which is such a big brand when I had 1000 subscribers. I was in third year of college and got paid Rs 8000 for it”Sejal Kumar
Today, Sejal is followed by over a million people on YouTube and has over half a million followers on Instagram.
Now for most millennials today having an internet based career seems only natural, but before the digital boom hit us hard in the past 5 years, dedicating yourself to an offbeat career like being a “YouTuber” was something people didn't really understand. Sejal who’s born to gynaecologist mother and retired army major dad, also didn't know she would find herself doing what she does today.
While pursuing her economics degree from SRCC, a reputed Delhi university college, she found her true calling “online”.
Her career as a lifestyle YouTuber began with low production videos where she spoke about college fashion on a budget. Today her work is taking her all over the world, from Kyoto to San Francisco. But speaking to her made me realise it wasn't all that easy, in fact it wasn't easy at all. Being consistent and fresh with content is a task, and Sejal takes no days off, literally. In fact after shooting with us, she attended an event right after.
Having collaborated with brands like Myntra, Swiggy, Benefit India, Samsung to launching her own clothing collection and then to becoming Cosmo India’s lifestyle blogger for 2019, it’s been a long journey for this girl next door. Although it might seem perfect on paper, she spoke about how everything can not be calculated and a lot of learning happens “on the job”, but what’s important is to “respect yourself”.
“After a point you’re leading a team, handling its members, I’m only 23 and I don’t have an MBA degree. I don’t know how to do it.”Sejal Kumar
And just like any other job there are days good and bad, being a YouTuber too comes with it’s set of cons. A lot of eyeballs equals tonnes of pressure.
“ Earlier it (social media trolling) affected me to a degree where you wake up to hate messages like oh you’re a slut and you can’t imagine how bad that feels…it’s really not easy to brush it off.”Sejal Kumar
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“I don’t take both compliments and,I wont say criticism but hate, seriously”Sejal Kumar
Well her razor sharp focus and love for what she does might be the reason why she enjoys such a huge fan following but beneath all the wisdom lies a quirky girl who can eat Maggi noodles for breakfast and drink tomato juice forever- yes, that is her favourite drink! And as we wandered around her neighbourhood, over a few giggles she taught me and other aspiring social media entrepreneurs a very important lesson, which is to show up everyday and just put in the work.
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